Diane Schuur was off and running – make that off and chatting, about her two gigs at Scullers - tonight and tomorrow - about her newest album "The Gathering," about discovering her own voice, choosing songs for her shows, future album plans, and lots more.

By Ed Symkus/CORRESPONDENT

MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

By Ed Symkus/CORRESPONDENT

Posted Jun. 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 28, 2013 at 4:24 AM

By Ed Symkus/CORRESPONDENT

Posted Jun. 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 28, 2013 at 4:24 AM

BOSTON

» Social News

Interviews don’t get much cheerier than the ones done with jazz singer Diane Schuur.

"Hello, Ed. It’s Deedles!" she said with a great deal of bubbly exuberance, by phone from her home in Cathedral City, Calif.

Then she was off and running – make that off and chatting, in between sips of "my Deedle caf from Peter Peculator," about her two gigs at Scullers on June 28 and 29, about her newest album "The Gathering," about discovering her own voice, choosing songs for her shows, future album plans, and lots more.

But first there was that Deedles business. It’s the title of her 1984 debut album. ("The Gathering" is her 23rd.) And it’s been her nickname, one that she asks everyone to call her, for about as long as she can remember.

"My mom used to call me Deedle Babe when I was a kid," she said. "From Deedle Babe, Deedles sprung up, and then Deeds, and all sorts of other cute little nicknames."

Schuur, 59, and blind from birth, was a precocious child, and a natural entertainer, for whom words were everything. She started playing piano when she was 3, but recalls talking "as an adult, not using any of the baby colloquialisms" even earlier.

"I listened to the radio a lot," she said. "And I can actually remember sitting in my high chair at the age of 2, prattling off to my parents that Dwight D. Eisenhower was suffering a slight cold, because I had just heard that on the radio."

But it wasn’t just the news that she repeated. She was also singing when she was 2.

"Dinah Washington’s voice was the one that I tried to emulate the most at that young age," she said of the jazz singer and pianist, probably best known for her recording of "What a Difference a Day Makes."

"Music was a no-brainer," added Schuur. "I always knew this was going to be my craft, and that it was what I always wanted to do."

Besides giving her that nickname, Schuur’s mom was also a big supporter of her dream.

"She would curl my long hair and help me get ready for the gig that I did starting when I was 10," she said. She was referring to some ongoing work she landed at a Holiday Inn in Tacoma, Wash., close to her home in Auburn. One of her now-fondest memories at that venue all those years ago wasn’t all that much fun when it happened.

"I had just turned 10," she said. "I remember thinking, ‘I hope I don’t forget any of the lyrics to these tunes.’ Of course, on ‘Unforgettable,’ I did."

Schuur was a hit when she was a kid, and she kept moving forward in that career, working, over the years, with, among others, Stevie Wonder, the Count Basie Orchestra, Maynard Ferguson, B.B. King, and Stan Getz. The variety of players has also led to a wide range of music for Schuur to perform. She listened to the pop of Beatles and Elvis Presley, along with the jazz of Dinah Washington and Nat King Cole, as well as everything Frank Sinatra did. And her albums have ranged from the Great American Song Book to more pop-oriented tunes, then back to some jazz basics and, on "The Gathering," a taste of country.

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"Country represents, as much as jazz does, only on a different realm, life experience," she said of her choice to try that direction for the new record. "I kind of wanted to go there, being able to talk about life experience and different things that, universally, a lot of people go through."

As far as concert set lists, she said that she picks the songs very selectively.

"Sometimes it’ll depend on the venue," she explained. "Sometimes in a real intimate club setting, I can come out with something a little bit more mellow than what I would do a in a big hall. I’ve got such a plethora – I love that word – a plethora of work, I have so much to choose from, from the 23 albums I’ve done. And as soon as I get a new home, as far as a recording label, hopefully it’ll be 24."

Actually, album number 24 is already planned, and Schuur will be presenting material from it at the Scullers gigs.

"The shows in Boston are about two legacies: Frank Sinatra and Stan Getz," she said. "I knew both men very well. So the set list will include ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin,’ ‘How Insensitive,’ ‘Change Partners.’ These songs were all done by these men."

The fine stable of musicians accompanying her include pianist Alan Broadbent, who also arranged the songs; Ben Wolfe on bass; Don Braden on sax; and Ulysses Owens on drums.

Schuur is also quite excited about returning to Scullers, a club she’s played at many times.

"It’s a wonderful room. The intimacy is great, and it’s wonderful to be able to stay at the same hotel and try out their chocolate chip cookies," she said, laughing.